Latest news with #PulitzerPrizes2025
New Indian Express
12-05-2025
- Politics
- New Indian Express
'I feel Gauri's voice still resonating somewhere,' says Kavitha Lankesh
The assassination of Gauri Lankesh at the doorstep of her residence in Bengaluru, a scathing indictment of the perils of critical or analytical journalism in this country, is fresh in public memory even to this day, as we're almost eight years away from the abominable incident. As Rollo Romig's investigative book on the murder – I Am on the Hit List – has just become a finalist in Pulitzer Prizes 2025, Kavitha Lankesh, Gauri's sister, believes the achievement to be the latest echo to Gauri's persistent presence. Despite coming second to Benjamin Nathans' To the Success of Our Hopeless Cause in the General Nonfiction category, as Kavitha says, 'Being shortlisted for a Pulitzer is already amazing; I feel Gauri's voice still resonating somewhere.' Romig's book on Gauri could hardly have found a platform more fitting than The Pulitzer Prizes; even beyond acting as a reminder, it is a timely feat in context of India's rapid descent in press freedom indices for about a decade. Kavitha, who hopes it will shed some international acknowledgement of this abysmal state, remarks, 'I hope we recognise journalism as what my father [P Lankesh, founder of Lankesh Patrike] and Gauri stood for: being critical watchdogs. That is a very unsafe field right now – being truthful is quite scary these days.' Kavitha maintains absolute praise for the extent and depth of Romig's research behind the book. 'He was here for almost a year and a half, combining the two trips he took here in 2018 and 2019; he's done a meticulous job, meeting everybody of relevance: from family and friends to investigators and office staff. He has fleshed her out not just as a journalist, but as a person, including her interests and passions,' she says. The success of the book, providing an in-depth portraiture of Gauri's ethics, raises important – albeit timid – hopes about the implementation of necessary infrastructure to safeguard journalists. 'I hope it happens. In this day and age, a story will invite a multitude of trolls and abuse behind anonymity. This is especially true for a woman journalist,' Kavitha says. Kavitha, a director and screenwriter by vocation, believes her work is affected by Gauri's life, not death. 'After her death, I made a documentary titled Gauri – going back to her life and purpose caused me a lot of emotional turmoil, but also exhilaration. When she was around, I would discuss all my scripts with her. She taught me to be aware and sensitive, and to speak for the unspoken,' she asserts.
India Today
05-05-2025
- Politics
- India Today
Maldives President Muizzu breaks world record with 15-hour press conference
Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu on Saturday conducted a marathon press conference lasting nearly 15 hours. The marathon session, which began at 10:00 a.m. (0500 GMT) on Saturday and stretched past midnight, broke the previous record of 14 hours set by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in to the President's Office, Muizzu, 46, answered a stream of questions from journalists, many of which were submitted by members of the public, taking only brief pauses for prayers. 'The conference extended past midnight, a new world record by a president, with President Muizzu continuously responding to questions from journalists,' the official statement October 2019, Ukraine's National Records Agency claimed that Zelenskyy's 14-hour press conference had broken an earlier record of over seven hours held by Belarusian strongman Alexander Lukashenko, AFP reported. The statement said Muizzu, who came to power in 2023, was also marking his island nation's rise by two places to 104th out of 180 countries in the 2025 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders (RSF).MUIZZU BACKTRACKS ON CLAIMS AGAINST INDIAA key takeaway from the press event was Muizzu's updated stance on military agreements signed by the previous administration with foreign governments, particularly India, a topic that had been central to his 2023 election said he was working in line with his pledge to disclose the military agreements and blamed delays on confidentiality issues, online news portal reported. Bilateral discussions are ongoing. There are no issues. However, we are trying to disclose through the bilateral discussions since I made a pledge. There are no concerns," he was quoted as saying by the news to Muizzu's statement, former foreign minister and opposition MDP chief Abdulla Shahid criticised him, saying the people of the Maldives and India deserve an apology for his false claims over the pacts during the 2023 election campaign, PTI reported."After years of false claims, President Muizzu has now confirmed there are no 'serious concerns' with the bilateral agreements between the Maldives and India. He won the 2023 presidential election on the back of a campaign that claimed these agreements threatened our sovereignty and territorial integrity," Shahid posted on READ: Pulitzer Prizes 2025: NYT wins four, full list of winners announcedTrending Reel
